To determine if a useful article—generally ineligible for copyright protection—has pictorial, graphic, or sculptural features that are copyrightable, the Copyright Act and the legislative intent expressed through the Act’s legislative history require that those artistic features be identified separately and capable of existing independently of the utilitarian function of the work. If the artistic features […]

Low sanctions can initially appear to be a mitigating factor for unjust or inefficient laws, but this perception is likely wrong. This Article argues that low sanctions may have a pernicious effect on the democratic process and on legislative rule making because, as both public choice theory and historical precedent suggest, the laws accompanying these […]

When Electronic Arts Inc. (Electronic Arts) launched its video game series NCAA Football in June 1993, the available technology limited developers to crafting avatars that looked like faceless figurines. Today, however, advancements in digital technology have enabled developers to create “virtual players” that strongly resemble their reallife counterparts. For example, in NCAA Football 12, the […]

62 Fla. L. Rev. 159 (2010) | | | | INTRODUCTION :: Disputes over virtual world items, such as virtual money, Second Life islands, and even “sex beds,” can inform property law generally. Rights in these virtual world items, such as rights in software and many other intangible assets, are transferred by […]

62 Fla. L. Rev. 203 (2010) | | | | ABSTRACT :: Lawyers for the State of California have argued recently in several federal civil rights cases that the state sovereign immunity doctrine bars all discovery issued to the state, its agencies, and its employees. While courts agree that sovereign immunity generally […]